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November 5, 2008

How Will Renewables Fare in the New Political Environment?

Washington, D.C., United States [RenewableEnergyWorld.com]

Americans have heard the Presidential and Congressional candidates talk about renewable energy for the last 24 months. Now it's up to Democrats to live up to the talk. With a Democrat in the White House and a significant Democratic majority in Congress, industry leaders are hopeful that renewable energies will become a higher national priority.

"To date, we have had no leadership capable of moving the world in a new direction. President Obama can be this leader, he will be the catalyst for the dawn of the solar revolution and the beginning of the transition to a truly renewable economy," said Financial Analyst J. Peter Lynch 

President-elect Barack Obama and Democrats in the House and Senate will have many items on the clean-energy agenda in 2009. Extending the Production Tax Credit, creating a Renewable Portfolio Standard and passing carbon cap and trade legislation are some of the top goals for lawmakers.

Both parties showed stronger support for clean energy and energy efficiency efforts throughout the campaign season. While the Congressional stalemate over the extension of the Investment and Production Tax Credits tainted the political conversation over renewables in 2008, there was an obvious bi-partisan shift in favor of renewable energy on the campaign trail. 

There has been a feeling among many professionals and analysts, however, that a Democratic White House and Congress will give more robust support to the industry.

“President-elect Obama is the first national presidential candidate who has explicitly campaigned for renewable technologies and green jobs – and the U.S. will now more likely embrace more comprehensive policies that will drive these U.S.-created technologies to become integrated into our nation’s energy mix resulting in significantly lower energy imports and greenhouse gas emissions,” said Scott Sklar, President of the Stella Group.

All eyes are now on the Democrats to see how high on the priority list renewable energy will be over the coming years. To see a comprehensive list of the Presidential and Congressional candidates' positions on renewable energy policies, see the story published this August from Solar Nation.

In May, President-elect Obama visited Oregon-based PV Powered, an inverter manufacturer. There he took a tour of the company's manufacturing facility and called PV Powered and other renewable energy companies the "workshop of the future," pledging to invest US $150 billion over 10 years in renewable energy.

Some renewable energy experts and analysts say that Obama may use the job-creating opportunity that the renewable energy industry holds as a way to usher in a stronger economy while bringing more solar and wind power into the energy mix. (See Bloomberg.com and New York Times stories below.)

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Reader Comments (29)
 
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November 5, 2008
Throughout the campaign Obama and Biden were continually forced to reaffirm their comittment to "clean coal." Hopefully this was just the necessity of playing politics to get elected. Soon we will find out whether this administration will continue the disasstrous course of spending billions of dollars on this impossible boondoggle while spending practically nothing on EGS geothermal development, which can really deliver a practical solution in a much shorter time frame. Hopefully the new Senate will no longer be able to block real action just to support the coal interests. I am hopeful but cautious.
Comment 1 of 29
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November 5, 2008
It is an ABSOLUTELY HUGE WILL FOR GREENTECH/RENEWABLE ENERGY!!!

And most likely, Energy will be the first major issue that the Obama administration tackles. (It is by far the most safe politically. Who doesn't want a green economy???)

L. Miller
Comment 2 of 29
November 5, 2008
I'm psyched as well!
But climate and energy progress depends on whether we in civil society keep the public pressure up. I think the three biggest challenges RE advocates need to be aware of are 1)Potential Rush to Coal 2)Return to Inefficient Vehicles on sub-$2.50 gasoline & 3)Long-term threat of Climate Change being ignored due to short-term economic pain of recession. I write about them at:
www.setenergy.org

Dennis in NYC
Comment 3 of 29
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November 5, 2008
Obama needs to make a call to arms, by that I mean something very close to what JFK did in 1960, when he made the space race a NATIONAL cause. He called upon the american people to do whatever necessary to win the space race. Obama must call on the American people to do the same thing, but not to get to the moon, not to get 'energy independence', but to achieve COAL AND OIL INDEPENDENCE. I realize coal and oil independence is a daunting task, but what was putting a living human being on the moon? Together as an innovative, motivated, and hard working country we can begin to pave the road that will lead us to coal and oil independence.
Comment 4 of 29
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November 6, 2008
One thing that has been consistently overlooked is the following:

Coal and crude Oil are precious feedstock for chemical industry. Burn them up is a pure waste. Without these feedstocks, how can we make textiles, rubbers and plastics? We may have to go totally "organic", relying on natural rubber trees and cotton, when we had exhausted coal and crude oil.
Comment 5 of 29
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November 7, 2008
Yes it is time to think outside the box when it comes to renewable energy as a on demand power source.
The RENEWABLE THERMAL WIND POWER THE ENERGY POWER SOURCE is the answer. Lets get it right when it come to our planets enverioment and renewable power, This system has 5 sizes structures and can be built over closed steam power plants and use all the infurstructure, therfore lowering cost and can be on line much fasrter than new power plants at less cost.
Comment 6 of 29
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November 7, 2008
I think the first indication that things are moving in the right direction, would be educational programs in the use of renewables. I mean, it's our "thing", we know, John Q. public doesn't. Let's get the word out.
Comment 7 of 29
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November 7, 2008
Interms of getting the "word out", we should start off with the education of our children on the concept of renewable energy. Let them understand what is it in it for them. This is the long term solution.
Comment 8 of 29
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November 7, 2008
no matter what is the political compulsions , the real lift for the new sources will only come when it is justifiable by economics.currently this is not so .
more research needs to be done to increase the effecencies and improve the economics.
Jatropha seeds which yield a good percentage of oil will be one sought after for bio fuel.The land which can grow food can not be used for this purpose so arid lands around the world will have to be used.
PV technology that costs usd 1/KW will be used and this is already there.
Wind generators that are cheap and maintainence free will be required.
Land fill gas technology needs to be available free of cost to farmers and city administrations and the equipment to use it cheap..
Comment 9 of 29
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I truly hope that Obama is indeed the first American presindet who understands that "clean natural gas resources" are not renewable energy sources. Indeed, that he understands that the most important thing of sustainable energy sources is to not contribute to CO2 or methane emissions. I am amazed to see billions of tax money being guzzled up to bail out the US car industry instead of giving US solar energy a chance. How about developping space based solar collector - laser systems which can channel energy down to Mohavie desert based collectors? If Obama supports the financing of such research projects then America will have a re-naissance.

Greetings form the sun castle - http://www.111AAA.com
Comment 10 of 29
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November 7, 2008
I agree with Gary Reese and Alok Misra that we need to do two things: to educate our youngsters about renewable energy and to make renewable energy economical. I believe that both can be done, but we must start it as early as possible. For the first item, I have already committed to teach an undergraduate course "Physics of Solar Energy" starting the Spring semester 2009 at Columbia University, and write a book with the same title. The course and the book are designed for all science and engineering majors and for the general public. For the second one, I think that we should collaborate with China. Now China has a more ambitous program on renewable energy than US. They are manufacturing a lot of basic components for the production, storage and utilization of renewable energy (such as the vacuum tube solar heat collectors) with very low cost. We can take advantage of this fact, and use those components to build a better renewable energy industry in the US, which will create green jobs, save fossil energy resources, and reduce (or better eliminate) petroleum imports from Mideast, Russia and some other places like Venezuela.

See http://www.globalwarmingisreal.com/blog/2008/08/05/renewable-energy-all-eyes-are-on-china-while-george-bush-lets-usa-greentech-leadership-slip/
Comment 11 of 29
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November 7, 2008
Meeting the goal of renewable energy will probably be coupled with training programs for low income, minority workers under an Obama 'jobs' initiative; that will flood the market with relatively low skilled installers of solar energy devices.

Similarly, U.S. Solar panel makers will also be pressured to hire workers from similar programs.

Current certificate holders and associations with relatively high academic and technical thresholds are worried their profession will get 'dumbed' down to accommodate this flood of new installers.

Jobs programs are now a critical need as the recession deepens, close to a million people have lost their jobs over the past two months.
Comment 12 of 29
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November 7, 2008
This is already an awsome education. I don't know of it being taught in schools, but with bumberstickers and this thing we are writing on, I think the kids are getting it. (I write about very largescale CSP on myspace and youtube even though I am not in the energy business).

Anyways, let's tell the democrats to make laws insuring that the billions of American RE parts are made in America... First and foremost, even more important than global warming itself because without "American made" energy, the Americans will be without (the ability to combat global warming and post oil decline)!
Comment 13 of 29
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November 7, 2008
If American solar companies want to compete, they had better get their websites spiffed out as well as Suntech's. SunPower's is pretty good too. Many of Suntech's products are not now available in the U.S. I wonder what is up with that, is it shipping costs, availability, demand, tariffs, what's the deal?

Stinging better products with punitive tariffs is a losing proposition. People who want the good stuff will go get it, wildcat, and brag. It's the American way. It's better to tweak and reverse engineer, and let the consumer compare.

Open competition promotes honesty. Unfair advantage promotes boondoggles and a lack of competition on the world market. We have outdone ourselves with corruption in the past few years. We need to get over it.

Also, I would like to see information on here about how much of which RE product is getting moved in which markets. The information recently on Colorado was enlightening as we ponder how to advocate for FIT or REC in Oregon.
Comment 14 of 29
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November 7, 2008
Ok , now here is our test of courage that John F. Kennedy and other great Presidents spoke of. I see our Nation at a crossroads were we must do alternatives.We must get our lenders ready to say yes to this process were it should be a federal mandate to get off of oil. We know how do this there should be no excuse. We must at this time and history again bit the bullet and take care of the citizens here in the United States. Let us help and partner good ideas around the world.
I am not and hoping we are not looking for world domination but offer and olive branch to take a deep breath and say ok lets get to work get started and to help feed ourselves get our banks lending for alternatives.
Comment 15 of 29
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November 7, 2008
Get the Bonds floated and have the banks loaded up with money for Alternatives. Al Gore or someone with his clout get the starter gun in the air. We have already said on your Mark , set, lets go? Have we coward so much that we have oil companies take us again for more of a ride.
Hell they own so many Alternative projects already. Let johnqpublic in once and for all.
Comment 16 of 29
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November 7, 2008
I have no doubt that the Obama administration will want to tackle Ren. Energy. But he's going to have many priorities on his plate. The top priorities now are U.S. economy and war on terrorism (Afghan. and Iraq). He has already stated that he wants to revamp the healthcare industry.

Cheap energy is going to help the economy and R.E. is not yet competitive with coal and oil. That said, I'm very interested in what solar can do for the future energy independence.
Comment 17 of 29
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November 7, 2008
What America desperately needs is a new New Deal. The first one established America's infrastructure of roads, dams etc. This one must result in America sourcing all her energy from inside her borders. The huge oil revenues come back to America to buy her airlines, ports, businesses, main streets and so forth. America is selling herself off to support her profligate use of energy. I wonder what percent of America is still owned by Americans. The huge oil revenues also support dictators who use the money to opress their own people and is used to support terrorism just to keep the terrs off the backs of the oil barons. A reduced demand for external energy would cut the legs off of this little lot. Lastly, if America stopped warping the worlds energy market, energy would be far cheaper for all the rest of the world and the rest of the world. The rest of the world would then follow Americ's lead and reduce their use of external energy. Oil and coal are far too valuable to be burning. As industrial feed stocks they would last for centuries.
Comment 18 of 29
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November 7, 2008
I just read a report from several Texas professors that stated that at least 75% of the investment in solar energy was subsidized.

Government subsidies at this level are not sustainable; and could well pave the way for government industries to compete with foreign manufacturing or nationalization or pricing caps.....all of which cost money.

Many of you seem oblivious to the economic impact of the depression; and its impact on any alt. energy proposal which don't promise a fast return on investment or substantial savings.

I just costed out a $26,000 windmill that would pay back the investment in 20 years or just when the warranty runs out...Not good enough says the owner!

With middle class America losing half of its savings and retirement accounts; the proposals of zealots will not receive much of a welcome.
Comment 19 of 29
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November 8, 2008
How Will Renewables Fare in the New Political Environment?
Only time will tell the whole truth about that but, I can tell you this without having to be a prophet, the price of photovoltaic modules is not going to come down!
Comment 20 of 29
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November 8, 2008
Frank J Heller may be right about the subsidized percentage for RE. I will not argue that point. I will point out that all energy sources in US are being subsidized. There is even a liability insurance cap on Nuclear in order to make nuclear affordable. Currently, subsidized nuclear is around $6000/kWh not far from the cost of solar PV. Remember the huge oil subsidized programs from the 1980's and give away federal govt oil leases that many companies received? Governments around the world realize that energy is one of the key components for growth and sustainability. It becomes a matter of choice of what energy sources will benefit the country. Should the choice be to continue a subsidized oil program to help substain national debt program by continue sending over a billion dollars a day overseas or choosing a subsidized RE program to make the country energy independent?

As far as Frank J Heller comment RE people not remembering the depression, I do remember reading the rural electrification act during this time frame. Farmers wind systems were producing both water and electricity. A subsidized federal govt. electric program made the farmers rip out the water and electric wind turbines. If the govt did not subsidized the coal electric utilities at this time, the country could had been 50 years ahead of wind technology.
Comment 21 of 29
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November 8, 2008
The fossil-fuel industry uses profits and subsidies to whack other forms of energy.

Geothermal may be too underground to get whacked too much over time. This might be a sneaker technology in some parts of the country.

Alcohol has taken it though, by being punished rather than subsidized, with Prohibition and selective intimidation by the BATF.

Using corn for fuel is massively silly from an efficiency point of view.

As a negotiation tactic, this was just masterful.

Make alcohol production look as if it is taking food from the mouths of the poor, take subsidies that are bigger for bigger operations for a time, then kill small operators by lobbying against subsidies when you want to get rid of small competitors.

A smart and honest congress could figure out this sort of thing and do something fair about it. Is that ever not going to happen.

So kudzu can overtake junk cars in the south, where poor folks could gather it for alcohol production, if we had smart people of good will in government and industry.

And then there are mesquite pods and coppice in the southwest.

The northwest has coffee grounds which probably can't turn into alcohol but maybe some kind of fuel, if you could wrest those grounds away from employee and customer gardeners.

I'm partly being Saturday facetious here, but the present way we do things would not please a gifted trust-buster and person with true Good Will toward little people.

Modern monopoly-busters with pilot projects in under-watched states could do well. The challenge of taking pilots to scale is different variables in different places, but this could work with good will present.

When the wealthy of good will and the poor of strong body get together, there is quite a bit of interesting mischief they can get into, with good photo ops and maybe even good music to go with.

Homage to David Blume.

I hope to live to see it.
Comment 22 of 29
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November 8, 2008
REALITY CHECK: NO RENEWABLES WITHOUT HIGH OIL PRICES!!
In late July, an article Business Week magazine said oil prices needed to remain at $90/barrel for the renewable energy and recycling markets to mature. The article suggested taxing oil to keep the price high enough for a real transition to renewable energy.

If Obama is too concerned with "pain" at the pump, renewable energy has no hope in the immediate future. Doesn't taxing imported oil to pay for the wars which protect the supply line makes sense, as it really ought to be part of the price anyway? A tax could actually unwarp the market.

GREEN EDUCATION has been happening K-12, but we need a massive investment in CLEAN-ENERGY JOB TRAINING.
Why not scale back the Student Loan Program--too many people to go to college just so they can get a job---and put the money into APPRENTICESHIPS for clean energy and energy conservation jobs (like HVAC, solar plumbing or electrician, wind technician), beginning in high school FOR EVERYBODY, NOT JUST THE DISADVANTAGED.
Comment 23 of 29
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November 8, 2008
AM, it seems likely we are going to get world-class inflation pretty soon, which is the form of taxation that is the sneakiest for the politicians.

The price of oil will then be high without politicians' having to appear to stick the ordinary person with specifically legislated higher taxes.

Community colleges do some HVAC and solar training now, although some is done by equipment manufacturers. The states which have been friendliest to certain technologies are the ones where the CC's will be on board already.

Some high schools can't hang on to kids in ordinary sit-and-be-talked-at classrooms, so they are allowing some to opt into CC's rather than just dropping out.

Encouraging this process is the kind of thing few politicians would overtly oppose, and some might even boldly go for photo ops to appear in neighborhood papers where 'hooders are likely to like these plans.

If a student is tracked to a CC, schools do not have to count them as drop-outs. In places where the press tries to track drop-out rates, this makes the public schools look less bad.

The financial aid program is a mess, I agree. I worked in a college book store where financial aid was used to buy jewelry and other items not related to getting smarter.

In my area, I believe the campus that supports HVAC and solar is in the wealthier suburbs and not in the city itself. I wonder if this is a pattern?
Comment 24 of 29
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November 10, 2008
I feel confident that the new administration will promote RE, however, politicians are not RE experts. It will be interesting to see who's expertise they will seek out (or will be lobbied by) to take the steps necessary to get a plan into action. I feel a massive campaign stressing the importance of energy conservation should be in place in order to make any RE program a success.
Comment 25 of 29
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November 10, 2008
Mary, it kind of makes sense that Solar HVAC and Solar Plumbing training happens first out in the 'burbs where you're less likely to have your sun blocked by tall buildings. Also, big buildings in the city are completely designed on paper, and so the trades don't have the option of putting in alternative HVAC and Plumbing.....but I agree with you, in that it ought to be a part of every training program.

The local plumbers in Ireland are all advertising their solar radiant heating expertise because as of July 1, No More government grants for new homes: all residences are simply required by building code to incorporate a sustainable energy feature. That got the trades going!

Ireland is a small county with one climate, so building code is a national issue. Here, it's a local issue. (Although the feds are heavily involved in the financing of new construction--aaarrgh!)

Personally, I favor the stick to the carrot on promoting home energy technologies. A change in building code is a level playing field for everyone in the market. Right now, most people simply won't apply for government rebates because the bureaucracy of it nauseates them. (Thank God!) And the constant flux of city, state, federal, and corporate programs, plus the fluctuating cost of heating, makes a financial decision difficult.

If Solar HVAC and Plumbing is the right thing to do--and I believe maybe enough of us think it is--city and county governments ought to legislate the required change in building codes.

All we need from the feds is the technical advice from the national laboratories and maybe a legal defense fund for the poor little municipality when the saavy interstate real estate developer sics his team of lawyers on the new code......

Of course, newspapers don't cover local politics because they're either boring (building code, yawn!) or too personal, but that's where any real change will take place.
Comment 26 of 29
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November 11, 2008
Thanks, AM.

ReCode Portland wants outcome carrots to retrofit for appreciable improvement.

LEED new construction is ad hoc mandatory here.

Many citizens consider public servants to be retail clerks. City workers buy into this.

A worker can say ReCode and Peak Oil are on this. Young people, with a few token gray heads, are in these groups and also in City Repair. City Repair has parties people fly here to go to. I worked the door at a party recently. Approximately 1,800 attended.

In a short, leather skirt, with a badge and a police hat, my neighbor, a dentist, carded, which is how I know about tourists.

Would you mess with Phil Knight, Nike, who might give you a big grant for something, or sue? And who knows which one Phil Knight is. It's not like you can tell bank account by clothing around here.

Legal micro-grid with a school yard for ground-source and a large roof for solar is planned. A corporation trying to mess with this would take a public-relations hit--better to sign on.

Cooperative-by-initiative is background, held off only by coops' having bad enough actors to seem federal-government-like enough.

National labs can't detail all micro-climates. Weather and culture change.

Outcome incentivizers could be things like smart meters that show venue-owners details about usage.

Another idea is to sell surplus government property for investment to make schools efficient. Communities learn as school power bills go down. A vacant school was sold to a brew pub company, with increased employment resulting.

Schools need ways to bribe un-childed persons. The Mother Earth News reported on a project like this. Solar DIY ads in TMEN are intriguing. Education with production is an old reform idea.

Government rebate programs are lead-generation techniques for contractors who charge so much that only the wealthy go this route.

Hello DIY, given consequences of bail-out.
Comment 27 of 29
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November 11, 2008
Hello John Groweg, this is a very interesting idea. The challenge I see with it is that Billy Bob's uncle's friend will decide what the RE to be implemented is.

Then we go around with black eyes for RE because the "best" technology comes up short, and we're back to savvy rich people putting in ground source at their hunting cabin in Maine while ordinary people don't get in on good tech.

Obama is a smart guy, but how is he going to short-circuit this process?

Right now, the only way I see ordinary people getting in on good tech is DIY, and this is a change for me. I used to argue for credits, before I tried to use any.
Comment 28 of 29
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December 8, 2008
IF WE ARE SMART
We will all help to lobby for the Renewables.......and use as the common
denominator....Hydrogen!
If you wish to know how this is possible, join the American Hydrogen
Association (A.H.A.) for $39 ($29 for students) and get the 230-page
book entitled....."The Solar Hydrogen Civilization" written by the Assoc.
president Roy McAlister (Ph.D.) who recieved his doctorate in the mid-sixties and has not stopped learning and teaching about the benefits that
we could reap from achieving a Hydrogen (not fossil-fuel) Economy.
Comment 29 of 29
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